Method of and means for burning bricks



May 1, 1923.

G. E. LUCE METHOD OF AND MEANS FORBURNING BRICKS Filed July 25 1917 3Sheets-Sheet l wn an @n 8 Gwagiavul? l-ZZCQ/ w May-l, 1923. 1,453,856

G. E. LUCE METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR BURNING BRICKS Filed July 25 1917 3Sheets-Sheet 2 May 1, 1 923 1,453,850

G. E. LUCE 1 METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR BURNING BRICKS Filed July 25 [1917s Sheets-Sheet 5 C(iifozmeys Patented May 1, 1923.

UNITED STATES GRAFTON E. LUCE,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

CHARLES A. BROWN, OF HINSDALE, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR BURNING BRICKS.

Application filed July 25, 1917. Serial No. 182,653.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GRAFTON E. Loon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of and Meansfor Burning Bricks, of Which the following is a full, clear, concise,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a method of and means for burning bricks. Thisinvention is an improvement upon a process of burning bricks known inthe art as the Lambert process. In that process a generally horizontalzone of heat is created in the lower part of the kiln at a rapid rate soas to drive off the moisture from the bricks faster than the kiln draftwill carry the same off so that finally the draft becomes choked and theheat which has been put in the bottom of the kiln is held there and isnot dissipated by leakage of air or by any draft.

The present invention is particularly concerned with an improved mannerof generating the heat in the bottom of the kiln; in an improved mannerof applying and burning fuel in the kiln, and in an improved manner ofcausing the heat which is gener ated in the lower part of the kiln to bemoved through the unburned part of the kiln to finish the entire kiln.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an improved structure ofkiln for carrying out the various steps of the process and a newrelation between a particular type of firing apparatus and a brick kiln.

Other incidental and contributory objects will be apparent from thefollowing specification, which, together with the drawings which form apart of the same, describe one particular manner of practicing andconstructing my invention so that those skilled in the art may fullyunderstand the same.

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a kiln of bricks with parts brokenawaywith the burning apparatus applied in position to create a zone ofheat in the lower part of the kiln. This section of Figure 1 is takenthrough an arch of the kiln.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the blower pipe in position duringthe stage of blowing.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 8, 3 looking in thedirection of the arrows showing the disposition of the blower pipe inthe lower furnace and showing the relative arrangement of dog-house andarch.

The bricks are preferably formed with a compact exterior and somewhatless compact interior which will permit of rapid firing without damage.The bricks are then set into the kiln for burning. The bricks may' beformed in any other desired manner, as

this feature forms no part of the present invention. The type of kilnwhich I prefer to employ is the scoved kiln although it is to beunderstood that the invention is applicable to other forms of kilns. Inbuilding a kiln, a bed or foundation of previously burned bricks threelayers deep, as shown by th reference, numeral 1 is first laid down fiaton the ground. This layer of burned bricks l is interrupted to form aspace or furnace 2 substantially three bricks thickness deep and about3; of a brick length in width extending ompletely across the kiln. Thisfurnace is closed off at the top by a series of burned bricks beingplaced close to each other with small spaces between them. They are set,however, substantially in contact with each other. The bricks .to beburned are then piled on top of the lower layer 1 with arches formedover the furnaces 2 and the bricks 3. The dried bricks which are to beburned may be handled by cranes or in any other manner. If a crane isemployed the bricks are taken from the driers on cars piled eight brickwidths deep and the cranes pick up a carload at a time and place it inthe proper position for building up the kiln.

A crane load of bricks is set on each side of the burned bricks 3resting upon the foundation of burned bricks 1, as shown .in Figure 3.This leaves an opening Which becomes the arch opening forming a furnaceabove the furnace 2 and communicating with the furnace 2 by means of thespaces 4: between the bricks 3 as well as through they crevices betweenthe green bricks 5at the bottoms of the arches and the burned bricks 1which form the foundation.

The workmen with their hands draw the upper layers of bricks over toform ets 6 and thus close off the tops of the arches 7. After the archesare formed the spacesbehind the jets are filledin with extra bucksplaced by hand as shown at 8. To complete the kiln the unburned bricksare packed on top of the bricks thus set by means of the crane where thesame is our ployed until the kiln is completed.

I prefer to form the kilns of about 22 arches set 48 courses highmeasured in brick widths exclusive of the bottom bricks 1. The width ofthe kiln at the bottom is about 5% brick lengths and at the top is about51 brick lengths. Each pillar or leg between the arches has a horizontalthickness or about four brick lengths and each arch is about 2 bricklengths in width so that the consecutive arches are about six bricklengths distance from center to center.

The bricks all stand on edge cries-cross with narrow spaces between themwith a spacing of about3 over 1.

On the outside of the kiln above the arches and on the ends of the kilnfrom the ground up there is placed a wall 9 of double coal bricks, thethickness of this wall being equal to thelength of a single brick. Thedouble coal bricks in this wall are made up by mix ing coal screeningspreferably anthracite coal with the clay in the proportion of about 80lbs. to a thousand bricks.

Outside of the double coal brick wall 9 a wall of previously burnedbricks 11 is built up all around the sides and end of the kiln.

his wall 11 has a thickness of a brick length for the lower half and hasa thickness of a single brick width for the upper half. The outside ofthe wall 11 is then daubed over or scoved with a daubing made of sandand loam so as to close the cracks between the bricks. On top of thekiln a layer 12 of previously burned bricks which is called the plattingor fiattino; is laid with the bricks lying on the side. These bricks arelaid closely but are not scoved or daubed and the cracks or fissuresbetween them permit the gases and vapors from the kiln to escape.

The outside wall 11 of burned brick is built across the upper part ofthe ends of thearches 7 as can be seen at 13 in Figs. 1

and 2, but so as to leave openin s to the exterior along the lower partsof the arches 7. Extensions 14 called dog-houses are built out from theopen end of the side wall 11 in line with the arches.

Above each dog-house a peep hole 15 is left in the wall 11. this peephole being normally closed by a brick bat.

The side and end walls of the kiln may be suitably braced as desired.

Some means is preferably provided for indicating the settle. This mayconsist of a rod or finger normally touching the top ot' the platting ora pile of brick bats on top oi the platting as for instance a rod hungfron. the roof or frame work of the shed, the end of the rod justtouching the flatting or a pile of brick bats on the fiatting so thatwhen the settle begins a space will show bet-ween the end of the rod andthe top of the kiln.

F or the purpose of heating the bricks for firing the same I provide ahorizontal burner nozzle 16 at each end of each arch. This nozzlecomprises a horizontal tube terminating in a restricted tip or jet 17having a conical flange 18 about the same. A pipe 19 adapted to deliverpowdered coal in proper quantities communicates with the nozzle 16 byway of an opening 29 above which the pipe 19 is adjustably secured. Thepipe 19 telescopes with a pipe 21 from which it is supported and towhich a supply of powdered coal is furnished. The adjustment of the pipe19 may be fixed as by means of the thumb screw 22. The opening has aflange 27 about the same to insure catching of the stream of powderedcoal from the pipe 19, and to admit air which is drawn in by the blastwhich is supplied to the nozzle 16 from any convenient source. The blastof air in the nozzle 16 may be generated by means of a fan, a rotaryblower, by a steam jet entraining air or other well known means.

F or the purpose of blowing in air at a certain pressure in carrying outthe latter part of the process of my invention as 1 shall describehereafter, I provide a blower pipe 23 which consists of a straightlength of pipe extending from end to end of the space 2 and havingopenings 24: substantially evenly distributed across the width of thekiln for blowing air under pressure into the kiln as will be describedpresently. The end of the nozzle 16 is adapted to register with the openend of the blower pipe 23.

The pipe 28 may consist of one continuous piece from side to side of thekiln or may consist of separate parts inserted from each end andfurthermore the section of the pipe may be decreased to take care of thedifferent amounts or quantities of air flowing therethrough.

I shall now describe the manner of firing the kiln in the mannerpreviously described. The nozzle 16 is directed into the lower furnace2which has its walls made up entirely of burned bricks. A blast of air isthen directed through the pipe and at the same time the proper quantitvof powdered coal is fed through a pipe 19 and these two elements unitein a stream or blast in the nozzle 16 which is directed into the lowerfurnace 2. The blast of powdered coal and airis ignited as by means of ashovel full of live coals, a piece of burning oil soaked waste, or thelike.

The powdered coal is of a fineness such that approximately 85% will passthrough a 200 mesh screen and 95% through a 100 mesh screen. Thepowdered coal is retained in a very dry condition having only about 1per cent moisture.

The fire is directed into the furnace 2 from each end thereof with asgreat a force as is required to fill the furnace. This burning iscontinued for about 2 hours and at the end of that time the entirefurnace 2 will be heated across the length of the arch. The bricks 1 andthe layer of bricks 3 will be red hot and the adjacent green bricks 5will have been dried off and partially burned by this preliminaryheating of the burner 2. The face of all the bricks facingthe inside ofthe arch will also have been dried off so that at the end of this timethe arch is thoroughly dry and the legs or benches'will have apreliminary drying which will permit them to be burned very rapidly.

The advantage of burning in a furnace of burned bricks is that the fireburns clearer and hotter from the very beginning and there is notendency for the ash or particles of coal to adhere to the walls. Afterthe furnace 2 has been properly heated up so as to dry off the furnacewhich is formed by the arch 7, the nozzle 16 is raised into the dottedline position 26 shown in Figure 1, the pipe 19 being raised and fixedin position to correspond and the flame is then directed into thefurnace 7 above the furnace 2.

The fire 'is then directed to heating the arch completely across thebottom of the kiln to substantially a brick-burning heat in theneighborhood of 2000 degrees F. The advantage of the coal burningapparatus heretofore described is that no outlet or regular draft isnecessary as is the case where lump coal is burned. It is possible toburn the powdered coal under a very considerable pressure in asubstantially closed place so long as the blast is maintained. This isdue to the fact that the-blast which carries in the fuel is alsosufficient to form a complete combustion of the fuel thus carried. Inorder to burn powdered coal a very considerable length offire box isnecessary and this is completely and adequately provided in the archesby the furnaces 2 and 7.

The fire is first directed to igniting the double coal bricks 9 and thento heating the arch evenly throughout its entire length. Thisisaccomplished in about 16 hours of burning.

The condition desired by the burners is to secure an even heat in acontinuous zone throughout the entire bottom of the kiln, this zonerising slightly at the edges where the double coal bricks 9 have beenignited.

The fire is forced to such an extent and must be forced to drive off themoisture of the bricks faster than the kiln draft will carry it off sothat the top of the kiln finally becomes choked with steam. forming whatI term a blanket of steam. The formation of the blanket of steamtogether with the pressure generated by the nozzle venience isoccasioned by the ash.

16 tends to insure the creation of the isothermal zone in the bottom ofthe kiln. The employment of the powdered coal as fuel is not detrimentalas might be expected because of the very fact that the kiln draft hasbeen shut off by this choking with steam and as a consequence the ashdoes not pass up through the stack and settle upon the green brick butinstead is trapped in the relatively dead air space in the arches orfurnaces 7 so that practically no incon- The ash is not driven from thetop of the kiln and consequently no objection can be made to burningbricks in proximity to dwellings or other buildings.

At the end of about 16 hours the operator can notice a slight settle atthe top of the kiln, this settle being substantially even entirelyacross the kiln if the fire has been in is suflicient to fill the bottomof the kiln taking the place of the air previously heated and expandedby combustion and at a pressure sufficient to overcome the resistance ofthe blanket of steam in the upper. part of the kiln. This blast of airlevitates or raises the blanket of steam forcing it up at the top of thekiln and at the same time it carries upward the heatunder the blanket ofsteam thereby finishing the bricks in the strata above. This blowing iscontinued until the zone of heat is carried upward under the blanket ofsteam to the very top of the kiln and then out. At this point theblowing is discontinued.

It is to be noted that the initial blast of cold air does not strike theheated bricks which are being burned for the first time but strikes onlythe heated bricks 1 and 3 which were previously burned and which are notsubject to cracking. The blast of air finding its way to the narrowopenings and crevices betweenthe bricks 3 and between the bricks 1 isheated sufficiently that it does not chill the bricks 5 aroundthe'arches and consequently there is much less danger of cracking ordamaging any of the bricks in the arches or other parts of the kiln.

The result of this blast of air is to levitate or raise the blanket ofsteam forcing it out of the top of the kiln. As the blanket of steam israised the heated zone is carried upward and as the blowing continuesthe heated zone travels throughout therestof-the kiln to the top of thesame and burns the bricks to the desired degree as it passes. When thewave or zone of heat has reached to top of the kiln the bottom of thekiln is practically cool enough for handling. This blowing continues forabout 2% more hours making the total time of burning in the neighborhoodof 40 to 48 hours from the beginning of burning.

The fuel cost is very low because of the short period during whichburning is carried on and because of the low cost of powdered fuel.

After the blowing has been completed, that is, after the zone of heathas traveled to the top of the kiln, the dog-houses are knocked down andthe air is allowed to enter to cool off the kiln. As a result the kilnmay be taken down and hauled away very shortly.

In firing the kiln it is essential to observe the following condition.The firing must be rapid enough and must be distributed over sufficientbricks to evolve the blanket of steam. Otherwise the heat will escape bythe kiln draft and will not be available for blowing.

At the same time sufiicient bricks must be heated so that they contain alarge enough body of heat to finish the rest of the kiln. With theseconditions observed burning of a kiln of bricks is under the absolutecontrol of the operator at all times.

The arches or furnaces provide large free space within which the flamefrom the powdered fuel may be developed. The formation of the blanket ofsteam which shuts off the draft does not prevent the burning of thepowdered fuel as it is supplied with its own air for supportingcombustion, and hence does not require any definite draft as would bethe case in burning lump fuel.

The extent of the fire may be restricted and the fuel consumption may berestricted and at the same time the pressure in the kiln whichcontributes the heat may be re tained merely by the addition of asurplus of air. Thus it is possible within the furnaces, that is withinthe arches to vary the total amount of heat generated without varyingthe pressure which is necessary to distribute the heat. This is of verygreat importance in obtaining the heated Zone in the lower part of thekiln.

When the fire is directed into the furnace 7 it is to be noted that noseparate fire boX is necessary and the heat is intimately distributedamong the bricks and directly applied. The arch thus serves the doublefunction of permitting the generation of a long flame and of being aplace for the depositof the ashes which settle due to the lack of upwardcurrent. A further advantage over the burning of lump coal is that thedirect radiation from the fire which results in burning lump coal isdistributed throughout the length of the flame in my process and hencethe bricks directly at the ends of the arches are not overburned beforethe heat can be driven through the interior of the kiln.

The fire may be forced from the very beginning on account of thedistributed nature of the same and this tends to secure quick and evenburning.

In burning according to my method and employing powdered coal, there ispractically no draft in the arch or furnaces proper, therefore none ofthe ash of the powdered coal would be carried up into the kiln where thebricks are green and this prevents any choking of the kiln with ash orany detrimental effect on the coal before or at the time of burning.

I claim:

1. In a kiln, a stack of green bricks and a foundation of burned bricks,said foundation of burned bricks having a furnace therein and said stackof green bricks having a furnace therein adjacent the furnace in thefoundation, said furnaces being connected at intervals through aforaminous wall of burned bricks.

2. In a kiln, a transverse arch of green bricks, and a transversefurnace of burned bricks lying parallel with said arch and communicatingthrough spaced relatively narrow slots with said arch.

3. In a kiln, a foundation having a transverse groove therein, forming afurnace within which to burn fuel, a series of bricks set on edge overthe top of said groove partially closing the same off and an arch ofgreen bricks set over said groove and communicating with said groovethrough the interstices between the bricks set on edge and through theinterstices between the bricks in the foundation.

4:. In a kiln, a foundation having a transverse groove therein, a seriesof bricks set on edge over the top of said groove partially closing thesame off and an arch of green bricks set over said groove andcommunicating with said groove through the interstices between thebricks set on edge and through the interstices between the bricks in thefoundation means for burning fuel in said groove and in said arch and apipe adapted to be inserted in said groove, said pipe hav ing means forcreating a blast of air and having a plurality of openings fordischarging said blast at a plurality of points along said groove. saidpipe being adapted to be put in communication with the means for burningfuel.

5. The herein described method of burning bricks, which consists informing a kiln of the bricks with a main transverse arch at the bottom,and a secondary arch or furnace below the main arch formed of burnedbricks, introducing combustible fuel into the secondary arch of a kindand in suflicient quantity to very rapidly raise the temperature of thewalls of the secondary furnace to a high temperature, approximately2000, Fah.,,thereby applying heat to the bricks forming the walls of themain arch with sufiicient rapidity to thoroughly dry them preparatory toburning in such a short time as to form a steam blanket in the upperpart of the. kiln, thenvintroducing fuel into the main arch to burn thelower part of the kiln, then introducing air into the secondary furnacein sufiicient quantities to levitate the apart to form narrowcommunicating slots;

8. In abrick kiln, 'a transverse arch'of green bricks, a furnaceextending longitudinally beneath the arch in which to burnfuel, the wallbetween the furnace and the arch provided with narrow spaced slotswhereby the arch bricks are protected from the intense heat developed insaid furnace.

9. In a brick kiln, an arch of green bricks,

a furnace of relatively small cross section extending longitudinallybeneath said arch, a wall of burned bricks substantially conlining theheat of combustion to said furnace, said wall being provided atintervals with narrow slots for-the escape of the products of'combustionfrom the furnace to said arch. I

10. In a brick kiln, an elongated furnace adapted to have fuel projectedinto same from both ends, an arch of green bricks extending above thefurnace, and'an archfrom the arch, said floor formed of bricks restingattheir ends on the side walls of the furnace and spaced slightly apart,forming narrow communicating slots between the;

I furnace and the arch above same.

11. The method of burning brickswhich comprises introducing heat at apredetermined place in a foraminous pile of bricks, and after thesurroundings of the heated place have been heated to a predetermineddegree, transferring the heating to another location in the surroundingheated zone having more extensive communication withthe entire pile.

floor of burned bricks, dividing the furnace 12. The method of burningbricks with powdered fuel without choking the kiln, which comprisesbuilding a. small furnace below a large furnace, heating by means of thesmall furnace until the walls of the large furnace are'hot enough not tocollect soot from thezones of incomplete combustion in the flame, andthen transferring the heating to the large furnace.

13. The method of burning bricks, which comprises building a smallfurnace adjacent a large furnace, burning the large furnace partially byheating the small furnace, burning the lower part of the kiln by heatingthe large furnace, and burning the upper part of the kiln by blowing airthrough the lower burned portion to carrying the heat up.

comprises building a small furnace adjacent a large furnace, burning thelarge furnace partially by heating the small furnace,

.burningthelower part of the kiln by heating the large furnace, andburning. the up- [per part of the kiln by blowing air through the lowerburned portion to carry the heat up, said air being introduced into thesmall furnace, to avoid damageto the bricks formingt-he large furnace bytoo sudden cooling.

-In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 20th day of July,A. D. 1917. I a GRAFTON E. LUCE.

I i 14:. The method of burning bricks, which

